So much to do. Nothing to wear.

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A week after the perm and colour, I was back in the chair cos I was just useless at managing permed hair.

The stylist, Zenn, very kindly trimmed my hair and taught me how to get the “wet look” using oil and gel.

For a few days, I experimented and am now settling nicely into a routine with my red and wavy hair (as opposed to the frazzled situation previously).

I was worried about using oil on my hair in this scorching weather and in warm yoga classes but it turned out ok!

As in, I didn’t have oil all over my face / forehead, no icky oily hair after 2 yoga classes on Saturday and generally looking presentable after a day out. Yay!

(The flip side is that the red is now slowly settling into warm auburn colour. It is, as one friend Harleen said, looked less “chemically” but part of me still wished for the more dramatic red. Oh well!)

With the scorching weather in Singapore these days, I start to perspire even before I step out of the bathroom. So the usual arsenal of sunblock and sun protection lotion tends to get wiped off along with the sweat before powder goes on.

Am trying out the ultra lightweight sunscreen recommended by a client-turned-friend. This is the Clarins UV Plus HP Day Screen High Protection.

I used a small dab all over the face. Light and just a little goes a long way. Definitely doesn’t make my face shine as much as the usual lot that I have. So I went without powder today.

Ooh short hair that is red and wavy. I did this on a Friday afternoon, had to wait for at least 24 hours before I could shampoo at home. Which meant that the whole of Saturday, I went through the icky I-can’t-wash-my-hair stage despite doing 2 yoga classes and a dinner. Ugh!

Then on Sunday morning, I happily did my wash and took a picture of the new hairstyle when it was still rather damp with lots of leave-in condition and serum. As always with new haircuts, I put on a nice outfit (as opposed to the usual tee-shirt and shorts weekend wear) with a red silk Tocca blouse.

On Tuesday, I tried air-drying the hair (yes, it went all poofy on me when dried naturally!) and styled it before meetings with lots (LOTS) of leave-in conditioner and leave-in treatment water AND soft wax. Took a bit more work than my wash-and-dry style but it was totally manageable. Phew!

I had some homemade yoghurt left in the fridge. Been there a couple of weeks and I didn’t want to risk consuming it as food. So I decided to use it as a cleanser.

Emptied the jar of old yoghurt into a small dish.

Cut and squeezed juice from one lime into the yoghurt. (Warning: the latter will look even more dodgy!)

Mixed with fingers and apply onto face just like my lotion cleanser or make-up remover. Left on face for a few minutes before rinsing.

With the remaining mixture, added a scrubbing agent to turn this into a yoghurt body scrub. I used The Body Shop’s Spa Wisdom adzuki bean and rice grains. (Tip: Either use a larger dish or bowl, or add only in the bathroom. Will minimise the risk of spillage en route to the bathroom.)

Scrubbed all over and rinsed under the shower. Done!

I didn’t use any commercial facial cleanser – neither before nor after the lime-yoghurt cleanser. Just followed up with toner and the usual routine.

The face was clean and looked fresher! The nose area felt a lot less bumpy and a couple of white heads that had been lurking had been tightened. Success!

Am trying out a cleansing brush to help me manage the community of white and blackheads on my face, particularly on the nose and cheeks. It’s very soft and tiny, so I have to go over my face a couple of times using small circular motion.

Made in Japan, this little brush comes with its own storage box. In the picture above, I’ve put it against a lipstick for size.

I’ve tried it with a facial foam and without the foam, just in a wet face after cleaning off makeup. It works well either way! Can feel less bumps on the noise after the cleansing routine. Yay!

I found a large, all-cotton napkin at the local IKEA store recently. Been using this as my go-to handkerchief as it’s thicker than the usual handkerchiefs and very absorbent. Helps me to cut down my use of tissue paper.

Mini home facial using homemade yoghurt.Clean off makeup and pat face dry.

Soaked up a tiny lump of facial mask in two tablespoons of plain yoghurt, place it carefully onto the face. Leave it for 15 mins. (It drips so it might be a good idea to sit up for that 15mins with an old tee shirt as a bib)

Rinse off and put on any store-bought mask sheet. I used my current favorite from My Beauty Diary’s Black Sea Pearl mask. Leave mask on for 15 mins, wash off and pat on usual routine of toner and moisturiser. (I don’t use night cream)

I don’t remember the price but the range of products were on a 3-for-price-of-2 deal that week. So, I picked up 3 bottles of this Sun Milk.

According to the info on the back of the box: “This lightweight sun protection milky lotion is non-greasy and easily absorbed, with a shimmering effect.”

It is lightER than the other sun protection in my stable but the shimmering effect doesn’t work in Singapore’s scorching heat. After putting it on in the bathroom, I look as if I had run a mile! *sweaty*

So, I have to pat on some loose powder over this lotion. It works ok if I just pop out for coffee or yoga, not so great for all day cos I’ll still need a more polished look with makeup base, foundation and powder.

I was in Bangkok last weekend for a stretch of 5 days bumming around the bustling, crowded city enjoying the sights, sounds and smells. Midway, though, my face started spotting tiny oil clots.

I suspected that it was a due to the dry air in the air-conditioned room, sweat from walking around in the humidity during the day AND the fumes and dust from the very heavy traffic I walked with daily.

Back home, I would use the usual lotion cleanser to clean and tiny flakes would soon appear as I massaged the lotion into the skin.

With all that rubbing, more oil clots appeared. The skin was over-stimulated. Sigh.

So, today, I decided to get rid of the dead skin cells using yoghurt.

Took a teaspoon of plain, low-fat yoghurt from my fridge and pasted it all over my cleansed face.

Rested for 10 mins to let the yoghurt work it’s magic, I then cleaned it off with just water and a cotton pad.

My face looked lighter and clearer! Finer pores too, especially the nose area! More info about yoghurt as a facial in this article.

I ended the DIY facial with a mask from my stash of My Beauty Diary disposable masks.